ESPN Creates Documentary From Marketing Campaign

NEW YORK ESPN has turned a marketing campaign into a half-hour documentary that explores the culture of the sports fan. Home and Away will showcase interviews of some of the most hard-core sports fans across the U.S.

The special was born out of Bristol, Conn.-based ESPN's yearlong marketing campaign, "The Season of the Fan," which zeroed in on all sports enthusiasts, from those loyal to the National Basketball Association to those devoted to the Westminster Dog Show.

ESPN produced the special in conjunction with The Concept Farm, an independent agency in New York. Indie shop Wieden + Kennedy, based in Portland, Ore., also works on ads for ESPN.

"The interviews that we collected for 'The Season of the Fan' campaign provided incredibly compelling insight into the nature of fans' relationship to sports," said Lee Ann Daly, executive vice president, marketing. "It's unique for us to turn an ad campaign into a special, but it became natural to produce a long-form program which sports fans of all ages will relate to."

The documentary premieres on ESPN2 Sept. 7 at 6 p.m. and offers five profiles, including the Moodies, who held their wedding reception at Lincoln Financial Field when the New York Giants (his team) and the Philadelphia Eagles (her team) played against one another. Other profiles include devotees of the Virginia Cavaliers, the University of Wyoming Cowboys, the Chicago Bears and the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

NEW YORK ESPN has turned a marketing campaign into a half-hour documentary that explores the culture of the sports fan. Home and Away will showcase interviews of some of the most hard-core sports fans across the U.S.

The special was born out of Bristol, Conn.-based ESPN's yearlong marketing campaign, "The Season of the Fan," which zeroed in on all sports enthusiasts, from those loyal to the National Basketball Association to those devoted to the Westminster Dog Show.

ESPN produced the special in conjunction with The Concept Farm, an independent agency in New York. Indie shop Wieden + Kennedy, based in Portland, Ore., also works on ads for ESPN.

"The interviews that we collected for 'The Season of the Fan' campaign provided incredibly compelling insight into the nature of fans' relationship to sports," said Lee Ann Daly, executive vice president, marketing. "It's unique for us to turn an ad campaign into a special, but it became natural to produce a long-form program which sports fans of all ages will relate to."

The documentary premieres on ESPN2 Sept. 7 at 6 p.m. and offers five profiles, including the Moodies, who held their wedding reception at Lincoln Financial Field when the New York Giants (his team) and the Philadelphia Eagles (her team) played against one another. Other profiles include devotees of the Virginia Cavaliers, the University of Wyoming Cowboys, the Chicago Bears and the Texas Tech Red Raiders.